As coffee lovers, most of us are aware of caffeine and how it makes us feel but not everyone is aware of how it interacts with your brain and your body to create that feeling.
One of, if not the most commonly used stimulants for your brain and nervous system, caffeine increases the circulation of chemicals such as cortisol and adrenaline and has many beneficial effects on your body when consumed in moderation.
As caffeine is a stimulant, alertness is one of its significant effects. Many of the alerting effects of caffeine are linked to the action of methylxanthine on serotonin neurons. This can result in positive effects on learning, memory, performance and coordination.
One of the main effects of caffeine is its ability to energise us and make us feel more awake. Part of the reason for this is because caffeine acts as an antagonist molecule and binds to adenosine receptors, which means you are temporarily prevented from feelings of drowsiness and your daytime functioning and productivity is increased.
Caffeine also increases the production of dopamine by actively interacting with dopaminergic neurons. This is the feel-good brain chemical that is often associated with pleasure and happiness. However, dopamine can also improve motivation and focus. Aside from making you feel positive, dopamine is involved in many bodily functions including blood flow regulation, digestion and motor control. Consuming caffeine increases these effects as your brain releases more dopamine.
Looking more specifically at how caffeine works within the body, at a cellular level, caffeine causes the inhibition of phosphodiesterase which reduces your ‘fight or flight’ response and can contribute to you feeling stress or anxiety free.
These effects usually take 30-60 minutes after you have consumed caffeine and they usually last for approximately 2 hours. Although, much of this depends on how quickly we metabolize caffeine and this can vary from person to person.
Caffeine is often the go-to when you are looking for an energy boost or something to help you focus. It’s also becoming more frequently used as part of pre-workout and post-workout routines as it can have beneficial effects for both performance and recovery. That’s why in Amunra Pure Performance Coffee, we have included 180mg of caffeine which is the optimal amount needed to improve performance.
0 Comments